Leadership & Management

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Leadership and management skills focus on a person's ability to guide and lead people within an organisation, team or project and ensure targets and goals are achieved. This could be through setting a wider inspiring vision right through to the day-to-day management of individuals and tasks. Generally, leadership focusses on a vision for a project and core goals, and management focusses on the organisation and direction of tasks to ensure that vision is met. How closely the responsibilities of leadership and management are aligned will depend on whether your project has 2 people or 20,000 people working on it - but the principles are the same.

To learn more about your skills in this category, you can evaluate your skills through the ‘Skills Discovery’ tool, via your CRSID.

Skills included in leadership and management

Leadership and management’ are broad titles that encompasses a variety of skills, some of which are directly related to the practicalities of managing tasks and projects and others are more ‘human’ skills, such as humility, empathy, optimism and compassion. It takes a range of skills to be an effective leader and manager and so spreading your time across both practical and human skills is vital.

It is worth noting that not many people are born ‘leaders’ – you have to start somewhere, so don’t feel any pressure to aim for leadership or management roles straight away in order to develop those skills, you can start by reading/watching videos/leadership lectures and build up to some practical experience.

Ability to reflect
Accountability
Active Listening
Adaptability
Adopting a different perspective
Agile thinking
Asking the right questions
Autonomy
Building networks
Career management
Coaching others
Collaboration
Commercial awareness
Communication
Compassion
Coping with uncertainty
Courage and risk taking
Crafting an inspiring vision
Critical thinking
Decisiveness
Developing relationships
Drive change and innovation
Emotional intelligence
Empathy
Empowering others
Fostering Inclusiveness
Goal monitoring, adjusting and evaluating
Grit and persistence
Humility
Independence
Initiative
Inspiring Trust
Integrity & Ethical behaviour
Judgement and decision making
Leadership
Managing up
Mentorship
Optimism
Organisational Awareness
Positive thinking
Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility
Resolving conflicts
Role-modelling
Teaching
Time management and prioritization
Understanding biases

Ideas to develop skills in leadership and management

Opportunities within the Community & Volunteering category can help you develop in leadership and management. Taking a leadership role or one with responsibility, such as event management, fundraising, coordination, or campaigning, (particularly when you have to be creative with your resources) is a fantastic stepping stone to build these skills.
Learn more about Music activities, particularly leadership roles in groups or event organisation
Professional Development courses, events and workshops to learn more about the thinking behind good leadership and management
Consider how Physical Activity & Sport activities can help skills in this area – particularly if you are looking to Captain a team, lead a crew, run a committee or club in an elected role, manage schedules or finances etc.
In general, being part of Societies & Committees, particularly in positions of responsibility, can hone leadership and management skills. This can include being part of your JCR/MCR Committee (e.g. officer roles, particularly President/Vice President), May Ball committee, treasurers, welfare, entertainment officer, sustainability officer and many others.
Theatre & Arts gives you a forum to build leadership and management skills within creative environments. As a student you can build up to leadership roles in directing or producing, stage management or technical direction – but also think about organisation roles within marketing/publicity. Being involved with the Theatre or other Arts organisations means resources can be sparse and so whatever role you have, you are likely to find you have a level of responsibility that involves decision making and leadership.

Understanding more about leadership and management

Access curated resources on LinkedIn learning for beginners: ‘Project Management – Beginner Level through to Experienced Level
Learn more about leadership styles in the LinkedIn Learning course ‘Leadership Foundations’
Reflect on positive experiences you have had with leaders and managers - what qualities made them effective at their roles?
Access the University of Cambridge training directory for short courses on understanding leadership and management (usually there are courses for specific courses and groups) You can use keywords ‘leadership’ and ‘management’ or search for courses via the ‘theme’ of ‘Leadership and Management’

Specific ideas

Ask your Faculty about supporting open days or becoming a course representative
Become a member of your college JCR/MCR (including roles in welfare, social media, LQBTQ+ officers, environment, IT)
Become a member of your college’s May Ball committee.
Ask your college about their student-body roles at college-level, for example https://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/study/life-at-kings/representation

Cambridge University Air Squadron
Cambridge University Officers’ Training Corps (CUOTC)
Cambridge University Royal Naval Unit (CURNU)
Get involved with journal or newspaper editing around your college, department or university wide see Theatre & Arts
Get involved with staging productions in one of the many theatre groups across Cambridge to build up experience for skilled leadership roles (Directing, production) see Theatre & Arts
If you are interested in recreational team sport, consider joining or taking more responsibility in a group (organise matches, meeting, sponsorship, committee roles) see Physical activity & Sport
If you are in an amateur or professional sports team, consider any roles that include more responsibility or put yourself up for elected roles see Physical activity & Sport
Take part in competitions and practice project management
Take part in the various consultancy projects that happen around Cambridge, such as iTeams, Cambridge Consulting Network, 180 Degrees Consulting, CamStart and activities at Cambridge Zero – just to name a few.
Learn more about 'Courageous Leadership' via LinkedIn learning tools (curated playlist)
Lead a team in a pitching competition
Start a business, charity or venture
Lead a fundraising campaign, perhaps via volunteering, a club or society
Organise a small study group
Take the lead in group presentations via your course or extra-curricular activities

Other skills categories to explore

Digital, technology use and technical skills

Entrepreneurship & Enterprise

Interpersonal, communication and social skills

Self-management skills

Writing, analytical and reporting skills

Learning, thinking and reasoning

Planning and organisation skills

Presentation, negotiation and influencing skills

Definitions of skills in leadership and management

Skill	Definition
Ability to reflect	The ability to engage in introspection, evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses, and seek feedback from others.
Accountability	The ability to take ownership of one's behaviours and responsibilities and being able to provide reasonable explanations for one's decisions and actions.
Active Listening	The ability to provide full attention to other speakers, understand their viewpoints and utilise gained information in following conversations or situations.
Adaptability	The ability to change one's attitudes or behaviours to accommodate new changes (e.g., new technologies, work patterns, new skills).
Adopting a different perspective	The ability to consider a situation, idea, or problem from a new or alternative point of view.
Agile thinking	The ability to understand, react and adapt quickly and effectively to changing circumstances.
Asking the right questions	The ability to ask insightful, relevant, and purposeful questions to obtain information, clarify a point, or explore difficulties other people may have.
Autonomy	The ability to make your own decisions and to govern your actions and decisions.
Building networks	The ability to establish and nurture connections with individuals within one's existing network, as well as engaging with people from different educational or professional domains, clubs, or shared interests.
Career management	The ability to create a long-term vision of future careers, seek opportunities for growth and skill development, reflect on one's progress, and ensure one's skills remain relevant and diverse.
Coaching others	The ability to facilitate learning or training of another person, a small group, or a sports team.
Collaboration	The ability to work together with others and coordinate individuals' different skills to achieve a shared goal.
Commercial awareness	The ability to understand the market, the business environment, and the factors that influence the success of an organisation (e.g., customers, opportunities, or competitors).
Communication	The ability to effectively share information, ideas, and emotions with others through written, verbal, and non-verbal mediums.
Compassion	The ability to understand other people's hardships and express sympathy and the desire to help them.
Coping with uncertainty	The ability to navigate and perform adeptly in situations with significant levels of unpredictability or potentially unexpected changes.
Courage and risk taking	The ability to embrace uncertainty and potential setbacks in the hope of desired results or great achievements.
Crafting an inspiring vision	The ability to create a compelling and encouraging vision about the future that inspires others to work towards making it a reality.
Decisiveness	The ability to make decisions confidently, resolutely, and quickly.
Developing relationships	The ability to build meaningful connections with others based on trust, mutual respect, and effective communication.
Drive change and innovation	The ability to introduce changes and innovations and inspire others to adapt to new ways of thinking and working.
Emotional intelligence	The ability to have awareness over and to control one's emotions and their expression in order to handle interpersonal relationships thoughtfully and empathetically.
Empathy	The ability to share and appreciate someone else's feelings and experiences by projecting oneself into that person's situation.
Empowering others	The ability to foster confidence in others by entrusting them with tasks and decision-making responsibilities while holding them accountable for both achievements and setbacks.
Fostering Inclusiveness	The ability to appreciate diverse points of view and provide access and respect to individuals of any orientation and background.
Goal monitoring, adjusting and evaluating	The ability to regularly track progress towards a goal, evaluate the effectiveness of activities, and adjust future steps and strategies to ensure alignment with desired objectives.
Grit and persistence	The ability to pursue a long-term task, mission, or journey in spite of obstacles and discouragements.
Humility	The quality of being humble and lacking feelings of superiority over others.
Independence	The ability to rely only on oneself or one's own abilities, judgment (e.g.,to complete a task)
Initiative	The ability to take a lead in a project or offer a fresh approach to something.
Inspiring Trust	The ability to speak openly about one's intentions and goals, particularly in the capacity of being a leader.
Integrity & Ethical behaviour	The ability to be honest and show a consistent adherence to strong moral and ethical principles that guide one in any situation.
Judgement and decision making	The ability to make an informed decision based on analytical and critical evaluation of multiple resources or situations.
Leadership	The ability to reinforce a project's/organisation's vision while supporting and inspiring inspire individuals with diverse character traits and preferences.
Managing up	The ability to establish and navigate a positive relationship with one's supervisor to achieve mutual success and goals.
Mentorship	The ability to pose as a role model to help and encourage another person to learn and develop skills for their personal or career development or achieve a certain goal.
Optimism	The ability to perceive situations with hope and stay confident about successful outcomes even in challenging situations.
Organisational Awareness	The ability to understand different elements of organisations (e.g., their structure, culture, values, roles, and dynamics) to help navigate relationships within them and successfully meet their goals.
Positive thinking	The ability to focus on thoughts of success, as a strategy for achievement
Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility	The ability to quickly recover from setbacks or challenging situations and easily adjust to changing circumstances or requirements.
Resolving conflicts	The ability to identify, address, and solve a conflict in a collaborative manner that promotes positive team dynamics and progress.
Role-modelling	The ability to demonstrate positive behaviours, attitudes, and values as an example for others to emulate.
Teaching	The ability to help with developing someone's subject knowledge or skills, create engaging lesson plans, effectively communicate feedback, and create a supportive learning environment.
Time management and prioritization	The ability to manage one's time, organise tasks according to their urgency, and choose the most efficient method of executing them.
Understanding biases	The ability to recognise when pre-existing patterns affect one's thinking process or judgement, often in an unconscious or unfair way.